Ruthless Jo-Wilfried Tsonga moving closer to French dream
Frenchman's straight-forward victory over Federer raises hopes of first home title victory at Roland Garros since Noah's epic win 30 years ago
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's surprisingly straightforward 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 quarter-final victory over Roger Federer at the French Open could be seen through two different lenses.
It could be seen through the lens of a Federer analyst, who now has more confirmation than ever of a great and classy champion's gradual fade from grand-slam power.
He was in all areas better than me today. That's why the result was pretty clean
There were hints aplenty under pressure in the brilliant Paris sunshine, such as shots off the frame; leaps that did not appear to leave as much space between the red clay and Federer's shoes as usual; missed opportunities off short balls; and even missed overheads.
"Missing smashes goes hand in hand with missing so many other things," said Federer, the second seed, sounding more melancholy than devastated.
But there was also the much more rose-coloured lens available to Tsonga observers, of which there will now be millions more than usual in France after this performance.
Tsonga, 28, who professes to prefer the quiet life of the Swiss countryside to the Parisian party scene, does not yet have a grand slam title. But he undeniably has charisma, just like France's most recent men's singles champion at Roland Garros: Yannick Noah, who won in 1983 and remains one of France's most popular men 30 years later.